Have you seen this holiday ad?

[fairfarmhand]

I hope you have tissues handy.

[scholastica]

Yes, a friend sent that. 🥺

[Katy]

Wow, that was good. 

[Ditto]

Yes, my teen and I both cried.  It is beautiful.  I'm glad you shared it here in case others haven't seen it.  It is a must see.

[ScoutTN]

Lovely.

[JustEm]

I started to watch it and then saw that it was over 5 minutes long.  so I turned it off. 

[City Mouse]

It popped on on my YouTube feed, so I watched it.

I burst out in tears when they walked out to the truck. 

About 15 yrs ago, long before my dad had any dementia symptoms, my DH and I bought a truck from my dad. My dad loved that truck and liked knowing we had it. We still have that truck and drive it frequently. Last thanksgiving, we took my dad for a ride in “his” truck. My DH had to almost pick up Dad to get him in the truck. While my dad didn’t have the memory recall that the grandmother in the add had, he was so happy to be out riding in “his” truck. 

[MercyA]

When John Denver started to play, I was like, oh hell no. 😭

Very touching.

[fairfarmhand]

58 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

It popped on on my YouTube feed, so I watched it.

I burst out in tears when they walked out to the truck. 

About 15 yrs ago, long before my dad had any dementia symptoms, my DH and I bought a truck from my dad. My dad loved that truck and liked knowing we had it. We still have that truck and drive it frequently. Last thanksgiving, we took my dad for a ride in “his” truck. My DH had to almost pick up Dad to get him in the truck. While my dad didn’t have the memory recall that the grandmother in the add had, he was so happy to be out riding in “his” truck. 

We still use my dads old ford we bought from him years ago. I wonder if it’ll stick around long term. My dh just bought at brand new Chevy last summer. And yet…that ford is still here. 
 

i sent this video to my dad. 
 

his response: what? You didn’t want to cry alone?

Edited December 6, 2023 by fairfarmhand

[fairfarmhand]

Whoever wrote that ad is a genius.

[Ditto]

9 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Whoever wrote that ad is a genius.

In my humble opinion they have to have some connection to dementia and truly understand it.   It feels so personal and much more than just an ad.  It is a short story.  

[Carrie12345]

My insides hurt. 😢 

My grandmother didn’t have any real grounding in the present, but she seemed to enjoy sitting with me, her daughters, and her sons in law for her 90th birthday. When she had had enough for the day, she told us she needed to get back for Jimmy. Grandpa had been gone for 15 years, but he was still there to her!

[TexasProud]

Yes, the caregiving magazine I wrote a devotion for shared it a few days ago.  I wept like a baby. 

[mmasc]

😭😭

[TechWife]

Wow. 

[Spryte]

No words. 

[pinball]

I think it’s unrealistic.
 

When people I’ve been close to have gotten to the point where the woman was in the beginning of the commercial…sitting with a blank look, completely non-responsive to what is going on around them…every activity was a long process, including moving from one place to another. 
 

There’d be no getting out of the chair, coat on, going outside, into a truck…

Simply Going to the bathroom was a big process. I was thinking, “I hope she has her depends on” as the girl was dragging her out of the house.

 

There would never have been a miracle wake-up the involved both verbal responsiveness, orientation to time and place, and physical recovery to the point that assistance moving is no longer needed, all bc of a car ride.

 

It’s a fantasy, wrapped in Christmas nostalgia. 

[Danae]

9 minutes ago, pinball said:

I think it’s unrealistic.
 

When people I’ve been close to have gotten to the point where the woman was in the beginning of the commercial…sitting with a blank look, completely non-responsive to what is going on around them…every activity was a long process, including moving from one place to another. 
 

There’d be no getting out of the chair, coat on, going outside, into a truck…

Simply Going to the bathroom was a big process. I was thinking, “I hope she has her depends on” as the girl was dragging her out of the house.

 

There would never have been a miracle wake-up the involved both verbal responsiveness, orientation to time and place, and physical recovery to the point that assistance moving is no longer needed, all bc of a car ride.

 

It’s a fantasy, wrapped in Christmas nostalgia. 

That and the idea that no one thought of doing things that reminded her of the past until the granddaughter overheard a statement that made her remember the old-but-in-great-condition truck that happened to be conveniently stored in the garage.  
 

I wanted to like it, but for me it was just irritating. 

[DawnM]

4 hours ago, pinball said:

I think it’s unrealistic.
 

When people I’ve been close to have gotten to the point where the woman was in the beginning of the commercial…sitting with a blank look, completely non-responsive to what is going on around them…every activity was a long process, including moving from one place to another. 
 

There’d be no getting out of the chair, coat on, going outside, into a truck…

Simply Going to the bathroom was a big process. I was thinking, “I hope she has her depends on” as the girl was dragging her out of the house.

 

There would never have been a miracle wake-up the involved both verbal responsiveness, orientation to time and place, and physical recovery to the point that assistance moving is no longer needed, all bc of a car ride.

 

It’s a fantasy, wrapped in Christmas nostalgia. 

Yeah, I was thinking as I watched it, "This would not have worked for my dad."   He could sometimes talk about things way in the past, but he had a lot of trouble holding a real conversation or remembering anything in the here and now.   And photos of the past seemed to only make him more frustrated.

I don't do sappy too much, and this was sweet, but not realistic.   Kind of Hallmark movie-eque.

[Pawz4me]

It's a sweet commercial but I'm among those who think it's incredibly unrealistic. I did know a dementia patient who was more content/much less agitated while being driven around. So her family spent a LOT of time driving. But that's entirely different from what the commercial presents.

[SKL]

6 hours ago, pinball said:

I think it’s unrealistic.

This was my reaction too.  Also, contrived.  That annoyed me so I shut it off.  (Someone on facebook had posted it.)

[WildflowerMom]

Thank God!  I thought I was horrible for disliking it so much!!  

[ShepCarlin]

We saw it in a movie theater this weekend. Heartbreaking but as some have said, unrealistic. My grandmother who had dementia would've never had such a breakthrough like the one portrayed. Still had me choked up though.

[Ginevra]

All the feels. 

[Carrie12345]

Ads generally aren’t meant to be realistic; they’re meant to have an element people can relate to that triggers something inside of them. Of course there are unrealistic things in this one. The giant house, the barn with the old truck, the living in one town for life, the young girl taking it upon herself to run out and everyone letting her, etc.

But there were realistic aspects. The little kids’ reactions to Grandma’s state. (Like my kids’.) Music triggering mood and memories. (Like it did for my grandmother.) Vivid snippets of the past (same.)

Of course it can’t resonate with everyone, but there were enough pieces to evoke familiarity with many.